As I explained in my previous blog post, the open-ended fair use clause in the Korean Copyright Act (“KCA”) was introduced in 2011 in the course of implementing the Korea-US FTA (“KORUS”). Yet, this does not mean that KORUS mandates legislation of fair use. Instead, KORUS restricts the scope of fair use. Footnote 11 of …
The linkage between patent status and drug approval process consists of two elements: notification and prohibition. The notification element refers to a mechanism in which a patentee is notified of the application of marketing approval of a generic product. The prohibition element refers to a mechanism in which a marketing approval of a generic product …
Border Measures KORUS grants a power to the customs authorities to suspend release of suspected counterfeit or pirated goods into free circulation when a right holder requests to do so with “adequate evidence”. The suspension should be applied to “all points of entry to its territory” and remain applicable for at least one year. While …
Introduction The provisions for civil enforcement are to ensure to the maximum extent the economic interests of IP holders. For the full compensation for them, KORUS intervenes the way to calculate the amount of damages. KORUS not only guarantees the compensation of “the injury the right holder has suffered as a result of infringement”, but …
One of the main purposes of the US in bilateral negotiation is to level up the enforcement of IPRs, especially enhanced enforcement provisions that the US sought but failed in achieving at the TRIPS negotiation. During the KORUS talks, the Korean negotiators were more or less sympathetic to the US’ TRIPS-plus proposals on IPR enforcement. …
Soon after the signing of the Korea-US FTA (“KORUS”) in June 2007, South Korea experienced a dramatic increase of complaints of copyright crime from 2007. Around one hundred thousands of persons were accused of copyright infringement in a year, and juvenile’s victims occupied 24% in 2008.[1] But the actual indictments by the prosecutors were very small: from …
The US has disseminated TRIPS-plus rules through FTAs. One of them is a so-called drug approval and patent linkage system. South Korea imported the linkage system in 2012, and the Korean model was fully implemented from March 15, 2015. After four-year experience, the Korean government, specifically the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, tries to revise the linkage system. Still we don’t …
January 5, 2018 Michael BeemanAssistant United States Trade RepresentativeOffice of the United States Trade RepresentativeWashington, D.C. Dear Mr. Beeman: This letter is to acknowledge receipt of your letter of this date, which reads as follows: “In preparation for initiating negotiations on amendments and modifications to the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), I would like to outline …
Now we got a piece of negotiation documents of KORUS FTA. They reveal the US unilateralism, which will be pursued more strongly by the Trump Administration. Efforts of Korean negotiators to insert “Korea” into the KORUS Preamble were all failed. Compare the final text and failed proposals of South Korean Government (SKG). US Proposal (16 June 2007) …